SYDNEY, N.S. -- A trip to pick up furniture in Sydney quickly became a scary situation for Gayle and Andre Bourgeois of Cheticamp.

The empty trailer on the back of their pickup truck, jack-knifed in high winds and nearly plummeted more than 80 feet into the water below.

"I kind of got scared," said Gayle Bourgeois, who was in the passenger seat. "I was thinking we could've went over the guard rail. I was thinking we were going to land in the ocean for sure. We're so blessed to be alive."

It all happened around 9:30 Tuesday morning on the Seal Island Bridge.

The couple says when they left Cheticamp, the weather was calm, but the winds quickly picked up on their travels and there was nothing blocking them from the strong gusts they experienced trying to cross.

"We could've lost our lives over that bridge, or if another vehicle was coming, we were gone," said Gayle Bourgeois.

Andre Bourgeois was behind the wheel and says he didn't have time to be scared, all he could do was react and make sure they got out safely.

"I noticed the truck turning on me," said Andre Bourgeois. "I looked in my mirror and seen the trailer was flipping.I didn't care about my truck, I cared about my life. I can always get the truck back, my life I can't."

Traffic was backed up and the bridge was closed for a couple of hours as the vehicle and trailer were removed.

Gayle and Andre Bourgeois needed to get a rental vehicle, but say they are happy to be safe and able to share their story that caught the attention of many on social media.

"It's something you see on TV on the news, and you don't expect it to be you," Gayle Bourgeois said. "It's so true that life can change so fast. We were so blessed, obviously God didn't want us yet."